The Commonwealth REIT management agreement revision discussed on QuidnuncRE this morning--to "further align interests of management with shareholders" at a Massachusetts REIT facing a hostile takeover threat--was just one of five such revisions announced today.  And while the other REITs don't appear to have governance threats, they all also appear to have the same vulnerabilities under their old management contracts, as well as the same names at the very top of their org charts.

CBRE's quarterly study finds the lowest office vacancy rate of 13 metro markets is in New York.

The Commercial Observer is reporting a deal for Scripps' cable properties.

. . . And the investor, NorthStar Realty Finance, gets a major property for an asset management firm it will launch in 2014.

For the second time in a week, Commonwealth REIT makes changes that would stave off hostile takeover moves by New York investors Corvex and Related Cos.

The Times' veteran architecture writer tears apart Extell for its One57 building, and goes after a couple of the high-profile developers' other properties before saying some nice things, maybe, about the billionaires' pad going into the southern Central Park sky.  Also, retailing as the downtown office renters' lure in the Wall Street Journal, and much more.

The Deutsche Bank bad-mortgage settlement, a class action against a bad-ass Bronx developer--literally--and Ireland's housing mess--links to three real estate pieces from the past couple of days.

The Daily News has worries about a developer who works with the city and who is working on the de Blasio transition, but who isn't on the announced transition team. 

The estimated revenue numbers are in, but allowing private developers onto city housing land will be Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio's decision.

A few more to get in under the wire this week, including two Deutsche Bank-related deals.

St. John's University trumpets its new Manhattan property with a lease deal in the big new glass building at Cooper Square.

Commonwealth REIT addresses its management agreement problem in the face of a pending solicitation to remove its board.

Mortgage rates edge up, and Bloomberg BusinessWeek follows up in print on its investigative report into a Bank of America's loan servicer, and its obstruction of the federal mortgage forgiveness program.

Are you ready for the final workday before you take off maybe for the rest of the year? Well, you will be with links to articles on new development, new development fights, and a followup from Thursday on the Citigroup lease deal in the old Travelers Building. Click through for a 10-article assemblage.

Some late details on four items from yesterday that you will want to know about:  Three financings and a real estate sales magazine with a touching tribute that is online.